SCOOP
JULIE WALTERS AS MO
AND STEVEN MACKINTOSH
AS PETER MANDELSON
TELEVISION
Julie Walters
plays Mo Mowlam
Later this month, Channel 4 unveils
the new film, Mo, starring Julie Walters.
The film follows Mo Mowlam’s rise to
prominence in Tony Blair’s government,
focusing on her influential role in the
1998 Good Friday Peace Agreement.
Stylist talks to Julie Walters about
taking on the role.
What was it that you admired
about Mo Mowlam?
I loved her, I think everyone did.
Besides Tony Blair, Mo was the
one politician at the time that
everyone knew. You have to
be able to talk to people
like human beings, and that’s
what Mo could do.
What surprised you
about Mo when you
read the script?
I knew she was extrovert
and funny, but I didn’t
know that she used
to show off her
knickers in meetings.
She did that quite
frequently!
But she made
a massive impact in
Northern Ireland…
Yes, they needed
Tony Blair to deal
with Ulster Unionist
leader David Trimble,
but Mo was the one
people loved on the
streets. They trusted
her, and quite rightly.
It reveals that Mo lied to
Tony Blair about her illness
[Mo had a brain tumour]…
She was diagnosed a few
months before the election but
she had worked all of her life to
get to this position, where it
seemed Labour would win. She
wanted to be in the middle of
the action and definitely didn’t
want people pitying her.
Was it difficult to shave your head?
It was, but you can’t hide a thing
when you film in high definition.
I wasn’t completely bald, I had hair
round the side – I looked like some
weird kind of monk! At first I didn’t
want to show [my husband] Grant
and [daughter] Maisie.
How do you think Mo contrasts
with the politicians of today?
Well, it would certainly be nice if a
few more were like her, rather than
looking out for their own careers…
Mo is on Channel 4 on Sunday,
31 January
Mo Mowlam’s
political career
X 1949: Born
in Watford
X 1968:
Joined the
Labour party
at Durham Uni
X 1987:
Entered the House of
Commons as MP for Redcar
X 1997: Made Secretary of
State for Northern Ireland,
the first and only woman to
hold the post. Oversaw talks
which led to the 1998 Good
Friday Peace Agreement
X 1999: Lost Northern Ireland
job to Peter Mandelson
X 2001: Retired from politics
X 2005: Died age 55
on 19 August after a brain
tumour battle
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